Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

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A gripping true story!

Solomon Northup is a free man living in New York when kidnappers sold him into slavery. They had enticed him away from his home and family with offers to pay him for playing his violin entertaining their guests. As Solomon often earned extra money playing for parties, he was happy to travel with them.

They eventually ended up in Washington D.C., where the two men who had treated him as friend drugged him.

Solomon had a wife and three young children when he was kidnapped. They had no idea what happened to him for some time and, even then, did not know where he was—or that he’d been forced to live under another name.

The author tells his story honestly, providing names, locations, and excellent descriptions. This made it easy for folks to verify his story. The book contains language of the time and many of the names he was called are offensive.

Beautifully written. Poignant. Impossible to read this man’s story and not be touched by it.

-Sandra Merville Hart